The Life and Letters of John Paul Jones - Vol. 1

The Life and Letters of John Paul Jones - Vol. 1

The Life and Letters of John Paul Jones - Vol. 1

Excerpt

The fame of Paul Jones has been the sport of romance and the plaything of tradition ever since the early days of his glorious association with America's struggle for independence. Bringing terror to the simple natives of the stricken British coasts by his descents upon their unprotected ports, hero of wellnigh impossible exploits and of battles fought by moonlight under the lee of their headlands, his name passed into the domain of romantic legend and was one to conjure with. Chapbooks depicted him in highly colored prints, bloodthirsty and terrible, and mothers frightened their children with the bare mention of his name. During the years shortly following his death, history and romance alike were busy with his name. But these histories are now out of print, and only to be found in rare collections or on the reference shelves of public libraries, and the romances have ceased to charm. The patriotic services of General Horace Porter in discovering the hero's forgotten remains and bringing them to America amid manifold honors to a permanent and glorious resting-place at Annapolis have revived public interest in his character and deeds.

No one of the ten biographies of Jones which have been written may properly be called adequate, as none of them was prepared with a complete and comprehensive knowledge of the existing material, with exhaustive . . .